I wanted a happy family; the perfect, loving kind I had wished for as a child. Instead, I struggled as a parent, feeling alone and isolated. I found myself overwhelmed with anger, sadness and resentment. Why was this so hard? What was I doing wrong?

As a clinical HIV pharmacist, I leaned on my research skills and studious personality to prepare for the IVF conception, arrival and care of a child. What I wasn’t prepared for was how my perfectionism became the undoing of the happy family I had dreamt of.

As the clinical HIV pharmacist in a medication adherence support program, I periodically accompanied an outreach nurse to deliver missed doses to patients in alleys, parks or their single-room homes. The life-saving treatment could prevent the deterioration of their immune systems and slow the AIDS epidemic by reducing the devastating viral transmission that had hit this marginalized community.

It was here that I learned how humans cope with our own suffering.

In the 80’s, the only screen I grew up with was a heavy television set anchored in our living room. Today, we access sensational 24/7 news and social media commentary on pocket devices, wrist watches and even mirrored in eyeglasses. Personal screen use consumes our attention and our presence, fueling distraction and disconnection.

As a parent, the greatest source of stress in our family home, thus far, is managing my child’s screen use. I am not alone.